FERC nominations could fast track two Southeast pipeline projects

OIL AND GAS: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration is hosting public hearings this week on President Trump’s proposed drilling off the state’s coast as opponents prepare for a fight. (Southeast Energy News)

PIPELINES:
• President Trump’s slowness to fill FERC vacancies helped create a growing backlog of natural gas pipeline projects. (Politico)
• Meanwhile, West Virginia oil and gas officials say U.S. Senate confirmation of two FERC nominees could fast track the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipeline projects. (Exponent Telegram)
• Two mayors in Virginia are asking residents to support the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, citing its economic and energy benefits. (Daily Herald)
• There are several billion dollars’ worth of pipeline projects in some stage of development to move Marcellus and Utica shale natural gas. (Wheeling News-Register)

BIOMASS: Biomass power plants are seeing a surge in development in the Southeast, with one advocate saying it is the new coal. (Southeast Energy News)

NUCLEAR:
• Duke Energy has the authority to charge South Carolina customers for money already spent on the proposed Lee nuclear plant because of the same state law that charged customers for the abandoned Summer nuclear project. (Greenville News)
• Consumers may still have to pay billions more for the abandoned Summer nuclear project in South Carolina. (Associated Press)
• South Carolina’s attorney general is opening an investigation — and state senators are calling for a special legislative session — following the abandonment of the Summer nuclear project. (Post and Courier)
• Expansion projects to nuclear plants in South Carolina and Georgia were supposed to kick off a “nuclear renaissance,” but that vision is in tatters. (NPR)

COAL ASH: A federal judge has ordered the Tennessee Valley Authority to dig up coal ash from its Gallatin plant and move it to a landfill with a liner to protect nearby water. (Associated Press)

HYDROELECTRIC: A developer wants to build a $200 million hydroelectric plant, citing Appalachia’s need to compensate for the decline of coal-fired power. (The Intelligencer)

COAL:
• Following the failure of Mississippi’s Kemper “clean coal” plant and others, some say the outlook for carbon capture and storage seems bleak. (Digital Journal)
• Despite campaign promises to revitalize the coal industry, President Trump is pushing measures that would slow the development of “clean coal.” (Time)
• West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has recently made visits to the White House to discuss boosting the use of coal, saying his plan is a matter of national security. (MetroNews)

CLIMATE:
• Many South Carolina mayors are working to address climate change and the threat of rising sea waters to the state’s coastal communities. (Post and Courier)
• The city of Miami is featured in former Vice President Al Gore’s latest documentary on climate change. (Miami Herald)

COMMENTARY:
• The abandonment of the Summer nuclear project in South Carolina is a reminder that dependable electricity is complex and has its costs. (Myrtle Beach Online)
• A South Carolina lawmaker says pro-coal federal policy helped kill the state’s Summer nuclear project. (The State)
• A columnist wonders if Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear project will soon be abandoned like South Carolina’s Summer nuclear project. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• A Virginia lawmaker says a new grant program will help communities implement economic development solutions to fight climate change. (Virginian-Pilot)